A Slight Case of Murder,based on the play by Howard Lindsay 8 out of 10

A Slight Case of Murder,based on the play by Howard Lindsay
8 out of 10


Even if this motion picture is included on The New York Times' Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list, it doesn't seem to have aged very well.

It may also have to do with the actor in the leading role, Edward G. Robinson, allegedly born in my country, portrayed recently in Trumbo as a rather nefarious character in the infamous Black List saga, which had Trumbo, among others, banished.
Remy Marco aka Edward G. Robinson has been a bootlegger, but he wants to become a legitimate businessman, once the Prohibition is over.

Since this is a comedy drama, the adaptation to the normal life could yet prove impossible and is surely very difficult.
Although he does not know it, the beer he sells seems to be not just bad,but horrible.

Furthermore, the bank representatives announced that they would foreclose the next day, unless he pays the large sum he owes and which becomes overdue.
To complicate matters more, his daughter is engaged to be married and the man she had met has joined the State Troopers.

As the former gangster puts it, it is one thing to be 'legit', but to have the law in the house is too much.
Granted, when he tells the cop to get out before he is kicked, he doesn't know he talks to his would be son in law.

Not that he gets any happier when he learns the news.
What follows is a comedy of errors, with the father of the trooper stumbling upon various interlopers, carrying corpses over the shoulder and finding the house of the family of the prospective bride to be a Circus of Horrors.

Quite a few of the turns seem rather ambitious, maybe even puerile.
Which prompts the question:

Why is this one of the best?
Indeed, it is not on my list of favorites